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News Release Information

19-806-SAN
Friday, May 10, 2019

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Consumer Price Index, Phoenix area – April 2019

Area prices were up 1.4 percent over the past two months, up 2.3 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Phoenix area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.4 percent for the two months ending in April 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the April increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline and shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 2.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices increased 4.2 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.1 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.6 percent for the two months ending in April. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.9 percent, and prices for food away from home rose 0.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 2.6 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 2.7 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home advanced 2.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index jumped 11.6 percent for the two months ending in April. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (21.9 percent). Prices for natural gas service declined 3.0 percent, and prices for electricity decreased 0.6 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 4.2 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (10.8 percent). Prices for natural gas service fell 10.8 percent, and prices paid for electricity decreased 3.5 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.7 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for medical care (2.2 percent) and shelter (1.0 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for education and communication (-0.6 percent) and apparel (-0.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.1 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.1 percent) and recreation (1.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in apparel (-9.8 percent) and education and communication (-4.2 percent).

The June 2019 Consumer Price Index for the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area is scheduled to be released on July 11, 2019.

Consumer Price Index Geographic Revision for 2018

In January 2018, BLS introduced a new geographic area sample for the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This index changed to a bimonthly publication schedule beginning in February, 2018. Additional information on the geographic revision is available at: www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/geographic-revision-2018.htm.


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 percent of the total population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 retail establishments--department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. NOTE: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metropolitan area covered in this release consists of Maricopa and Pinal Counties in the State of Arizona.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale (December 2001=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

IndexesPercent change from-
Feb.
2019
Mar.
2019
Apr.
2019
Apr.
2018
Feb.
2019
Mar.
2019

Expenditure category

All items

139.660-141.6422.31.4-

Food and beverages

147.557-148.1632.30.4-

Food

148.446-149.4042.60.6-

Food at home

143.179144.369144.4282.50.90.0

Cereals and bakery products

178.299-185.5254.44.1-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

178.407-184.8713.03.6-

Dairy and related products

104.299-104.082-3.7-0.2-

Fruits and vegetables

134.084-128.9185.1-3.9-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials

105.701-107.9045.02.1-

Other food at home

139.795-139.7140.6-0.1-

Food away from home

156.846-157.4112.70.4-

Alcoholic beverages

140.145-137.361-0.9-2.0-

Housing

144.537-145.6124.10.7-

Shelter

150.681151.398152.1815.11.00.5

Rent of primary residence

157.750157.884159.1175.20.90.8

Owners' equiv. rent of residences

149.833150.068150.6815.00.60.4

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence

149.833150.068150.6815.00.60.4

Fuels and utilities

156.708-155.795-1.6-0.6-

Household energy

155.412155.185154.099-4.3-0.8-0.7

Energy services

155.160154.930153.816-4.4-0.9-0.7

Electricity

165.274165.253164.299-3.5-0.6-0.6

Utility (piped) gas service

103.799102.571100.718-10.8-3.0-1.8

Household furnishings and operations

98.805-98.6511.8-0.2-

Apparel

138.691-137.982-9.8-0.5-

Transportation

123.137-130.3252.35.8-

Private transportation

125.196-131.9162.35.4-

New and used motor vehicles

92.200-91.769-2.4-0.5-

New vehicles

92.839-92.465-3.9-0.4-

Used cars and trucks

85.272-86.2072.41.1-

Motor fuel

207.253217.637251.97110.621.615.8

Gasoline (all types)

207.069217.644252.49910.821.916.0

Gasoline, unleaded regular(1)

207.090218.050253.49010.722.416.3

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(1)

219.045228.199265.06111.721.016.2

Gasoline, unleaded premium(1)

210.009218.897250.93110.719.514.6

Motor vehicle insurance

172.093-168.983-1.1-1.8-

Medical care

176.786-180.649-2.2-

Recreation

117.336-116.7401.4-0.5-

Education and communication

116.427-115.722-4.2-0.6-

Tuition, other school fees, and child care

196.746-196.757-4.30.0-

Other goods and services

144.583-145.4870.10.6-

Commodity and service group

All items

139.660-141.6422.31.4-

Commodities

120.134-123.5800.92.9-

Commodities less food & beverages

106.203-110.9250.14.4-

Nondurables less food & beverages

138.976-149.6651.47.7-

Durables

78.510-78.490-1.80.0-

Services

153.112-154.1463.10.7-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

137.500-139.3592.11.4-

All items less shelter

133.858-136.0860.81.7-

Commodities less food

107.517-111.9230.04.1-

Nondurables

143.625-149.1771.83.9-

Nondurables less food

139.113-148.6011.26.8-

Services less rent of shelter

155.550-155.9710.70.3-

Services less medical care services

150.024-151.0203.00.7-

Energy

178.969183.842199.7824.211.68.7

All items less energy

137.369-138.2942.20.7-

All items less food and energy

135.625-136.5442.10.7-

Footnotes
(1) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.

- Data not available
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, May 10, 2019